


ten of swords

by infestissumam (technofetishist)



Series: through a mirror, cracked [3]
Category: Soul Calibur
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Male Homosexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:10:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/technofetishist/pseuds/infestissumam
Summary: i haven't posted anything in a while. got hit with the big depresso but i'm alright now. got to thinking about these two awful assholes again and decided to barf out a little blurb.its real short, but i figured it was a good way to get back into the swing of things. i will eventually finish the bigger story, but for right now it's too exhausting to work on. so, little one shots it'll be for a while c:





	ten of swords

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't posted anything in a while. got hit with the big depresso but i'm alright now. got to thinking about these two awful assholes again and decided to barf out a little blurb.
> 
> its real short, but i figured it was a good way to get back into the swing of things. i will eventually finish the bigger story, but for right now it's too exhausting to work on. so, little one shots it'll be for a while c:

"Did you...find it? Soul Edge..." Vercci's words were barely a whisper, but Voldo knew exactly what his master had asked. It was the only question Vercci ever asked anymore, between his bouts of fitful sleep and incoherent muttering. Voldo rung the linen cloth out once more, folding it to place it back on his master's forehead. He could feel Vercci's feverish, glassy-eyed stare even as he focused on the cool, damp cloth in his hands.

Voldo's lips twitched as he placed the cloth back on his master's forehead, not that the delirious man even noticed. 

"No. Not yet." Voldo finally responded, his voice echoing into the darkness of the pit. Even in the golden flicker of the torchlight, Vercci's skin had a frightening pallor. Heavy dark circles surrounded eyes that were sunken in their sockets, and his skin glistened with a thin layer of fever-sweat. His lips were thin and chapped, no matter how much liquid Voldo forced down his throat. 

Vercci grimaced slightly, a soft wheeze escaping him. "Get to it." he mumbled. _'I've been here taking care of you,'_ Voldo thought, _'You're more important to me than that damn sword.'_ Nonetheless, Voldo gave a nod, adjusting his master's covers. "Yes, master. You should rest, you need your strength."

Vercci's gaze lingered on him for a few moments more before his eyelids slipped shut again with a weak sigh. 

Voldo ran his fingers through what remained of his master's hair. The strands were brittle, lifeless and damp with sweat, but Voldo didn't care. Perhaps with enough care and attention, his master could overcome the illness that had taken him so suddenly. Voldo would give anything to see his master well again. It had begun as a general weakness in his limbs, which became random fainting spells. The weakness had slowly consumed him until he finally succumbed to fever, convulsions, and delirium. Voldo had done everything he could think of, yet Vercci continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.

Vercci was dying. Voldo could smell it on him, could see it in the jerky, aimless movements of his eyes and the wheezing in his chest. Yet, Voldo continued to care for him, hoping that one day Vercci would finally sit up and...

Voldo just wanted him to sit up. He wanted that one little sign that strength was returning to his master's body. 

He gently laid his head on Vercci's bony chest, listening to his weakening heartbeat. _'Please wake up. I've done everything I can do, it has to count for something. Please.'_ Voldo thought swallowing around the lump forming in his throat. _'I don't want to be here in this fucking pit without you. I don't want to live without you. I love you, can't you see that?!'_

Vercci stirred slightly, and Voldo lifted his head. _'At the very least, ask me something that doesn't have to do with the stupid sword. I hate it.'_

His master's cracked lips parted and he took in a wheezing breath, glassy eyes opening once more. _'Tell me how precious I am to you, just one more time. Tell me how much you love me, please. Don't leave me like this.'_

Vercci's eyes fixated on Voldo's face, hovering mere inches from his own. There was a sort of clarity to them that sent chills of dread down Voldo's spine. He'd seen that look in a man's eyes before, and he knew exactly what it meant.

"Voldo." Vercci wheezed, his bony, fragile hand wrapping around his servant's. _'No. Not now. Please don't do this,'_ he pleaded over and over in his head. "Master?" he finally choked out, his free hand running through Vercci's hair again.

"Voldo...I'm counting on you...to take care of everything..." he croaked, weakly squeezing Voldo's hand with a tired smile.

"Master...please don't talk like that. It's like you're saying goodbye." Vercci didn't respond. His eyes slipped shut once more, and Voldo knew that was it. Never again would he hear his master's voice, either barking out orders or whispering sweet nothings in his ear, never again would he wake up to the scent of cedarwood and amber surrounding him as Vercci curled against his body, nuzzling into his neck. Never again would he hear the praise for his weapon mastery or feel the sweet sting of Vercci's whip when he got out of hand.

Despair threatened to crush him as he laid his head back down on Vercci's chest, listening to his slowing heartbeat. He wanted to scream, to cry, to berate the universe for its cruelty as it took the man he loved so deeply away from him. Yet he seemed to have lost feeling in his limbs, body draped over Vercci's bedside with his head on his dying master's chest, and he couldn't move even if he wanted to.

_'Please don't leave me. Not like this. I need you.'_

It almost felt like he was dying, too, the way he'd lost all will to move even as Vercci's heartbeat had gone silent and his body had begun to cool. Time no longer existed, and he wasn't sure how long he'd laid there draped listlessly over the husk of rotting flesh and bone he once called his master. Voldo knew he needed to bury his master's body, his thoughts sluggishly drifting to the golden sarcophagus deep within the pit. Vercci had commissioned it years before, and it was as extravagant and unusual as anything else he owned.

_'Just a little longer. I can't do it. Not yet.'_

_'Get up.'_ The sound of his master's voice echoed in his head and he jolted upright, eyes fixed on his master's face. The sound hadn't come from Vercci's physical body, yet he'd heard it nonetheless. Voldo slowly laid his head back down.

_'I said get up. You have work to do, you lazy excuse of a servant. Get to your duties before I get my whip.'_ Voldo reflexively scrambled to his feet, glancing around before cradling his head in one hand. 

_'I'm going mad.'_ Voldo thought, looking over the corpse of his master. Vercci didn't 'speak' again, but Voldo knew he had to inter his master, it would be beyond disrespectful to let him rot in the darkness of the pit, with rats nibbling at his insides. Gingerly, he slid one arm beneath Vercci's head and the other under his knees, easily cradling Vercci's body against him. He was light as a feather, bones jutting out under thin, pale skin. It made Voldo ill, knowing how solid and muscular Vercci used to be. 

_'I failed.'_

The thought sent a jolt of pain through his chest as he held Vercci's body close, forehead resting on his master's. He sank back to his knees, grief and pain and shame finally hitting him at full force as his arms tightened around Vercci's emaciated corpse. The last thing he ever wanted to do was fail his master.

_'I failed you. I'm so sorry...I let you...'_ Voldo couldn't keep the tears back as he fell into bitter sobs, grief tightening his chest and making it difficult to breathe. _'I tried so hard to keep you with me. I'm so selfish...I let you suffer for so long. I couldn't imagine living the rest of my life without you, I love you so much...yet I let you waste away to nothing. Please forgive me, master. Please don't be angry with me, I'm a weak, selfish man.'_

Voldo lost track of how long he knelt on the cold, stone floor, hugging the remains of his master as he cursed every higher power there was, cursing himself for his inability to help, cursing that damned sword for all the trouble it caused. He wanted things to go back to normal. He wanted to be back in his master's villa, surrounded by Vercci's praise, adoration, and love. Vercci didn't say it often, only when he was exhausted or during their most intimate moments, so every time those three words met Voldo's ears, he basked in their warmth as if his life depended on it. 

Selfish as it may have been, he wanted to hear those words cross his master's lips one last time, and even that had been denied to him. Another bitter sob wrenched itself from his throat, echoing in the dark emptiness. As if he deserved anything more from the man that had already given him everything.

_'What are you doing, Voldo? It isn't like you to be so utterly lazy. Stop your useless crying.'_ Vercci's voice rung out in his head again. 

"I'm sorry, master. I tried. I really did."

_'You're not trying to do anything, sitting on the floor bawling like that. Pick yourself up, you have work to do.'_

A weak smile graced Voldo's lips as he shakily stood up. He shifted his master's weight in his arms, slowly making his way down into the inner sanctum of the pit.

"Yes, master."


End file.
